


really think i found my home

by punk_rock_yuppie



Category: Spider-Man (Video Games 2018-2020)
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Get together fic, Kisses, M/M, Pining, Post Game, light spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28446228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_rock_yuppie/pseuds/punk_rock_yuppie
Summary: Rio Morales wants to meet the man responsible for getting her son into this whole Spider-Man business.
Relationships: Miles Morales/Peter Parker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42





	really think i found my home

**Author's Note:**

> back at it again with some gamerverse fic. i finished the miles morales game in 4 days and loved it. this idea struck me not long after and i just had to put it to paper! i'm a little rusty on my canon from the first game so i maybe play fast and loose w/ peter and rio's relationship. if i get anything wrong, be a dear and ignore it haha
> 
> big thanks to han for beta'ing even tho she still hasn't played either game! 
> 
> enjoy!

“So.”

Miles looks up at the sound of his mother’s voice. He swallows nervously. “So…?”

Rio Morales rolls her eyes fondly, lips quirked in a no-nonsense way. She crosses her arms over her chest and stares at Miles expectantly. When he just shrugs at her, she says, “When do I get to meet the other Spider-Man?”

Miles feels a rush of pride—Peter finally getting called the _other_ Spider-Man is hysterical, and thrilling, and Miles feels drunk on it—but the feeling is quashed as his mom’s question sinks in. “What?” Miles drops the tools in his hands, and they clatter onto the dining room table with soft thuds. “You wanna meet him?”

“Of course I want to meet him,” his mother replies. “He’s the one who got you mixed up in all this, I think I have a right to meet him.”

Miles can’t really argue with that; sure, it was MJ who accidentally brought back the spider that bit Miles, but it really all comes back to Peter. Miles looks away from his mom’s stare to fiddle with the open wiring on his suit. “Uh, I can talk to him about it. He has to keep his identity a secret too, you know.” He doesn’t mention that his mom has met Peter before, through her work with F.E.A.S.T. He’s not sure if his mom would remember him, especially since Peter hasn’t had a ton of time lately to go help as Peter and not Spider-Man. 

“Who am I going to tell, _mijo_?” Rio places a hand on Miles’ head, ruffling his hair slightly. “I just want to meet the man who changed your life.” She speaks gently, kindly, entirely reasonable.

Miles knows there’s no getting out of this. Sighing, he says, “I’ll try and see when he’s free. He’s pretty busy, y’know. Spider-Man’ing.” And there’s the whole issue of Miles having a kinda-sorta-crush on the man—the kind of thing his mom will sniff out the moment Miles and Peter are in the same room.

“If you can make time for a home-cooked meal, so can he.” Rio drops a kiss to her son’s head. “No masks at the dinner table.”

“I know, ma, I’ll tell him.”

Rio smiles at him before wandering into the kitchen. Miles pulls his phone from his pocket and pulls up his text chain with Peter.

** to: peter **   
_ my mom wants you to come over for dinner _

** from: peter **  
_??? _

** to: peter **  
_ she wants to meet ‘the one who got me mixed up in all this’ _

Peter doesn’t reply right away, which isn’t unusual; there’s a good chance he’s swinging through the city right now, or working on some lesson plans or something. Even so, Miles taps his foot anxiously. He could work on his suit while he waits, it’s what he  _ should _ do to keep his mind off what he’ll do if Peter declines the invite. He reaches for one of the tools he dropped earlier only to twirl it between his fingers, unable to set his mind on the task at hand.

He twists the tool in one hand and holds his phone in the other hand, staring at the screen as he waits for a response. He doesn’t know how long passes before he starts to type out a response apologizing, offering to get Peter out of it, something like that.

Before he can hit send, though, a reply comes in.

** from: peter **   
_ I’d love to meet your mom! Just tell me when and where. _

Miles lets out a sigh of relief. “Hey Ma, what day works best for him to come over?”

* * *

Miles wipes his palms on his jeans before reaching for the door. “Hey Pete!” He says as he pulls the door open to reveal his friend and mentor standing sheepishly in the hallway. There’s a bottle of wine in his hands and Miles grins. “Ma is gonna love you.”

“I’ve been told I’m great with parents,” Peter says as he steps inside at Miles’ gesturing.

Rio comes around the corner, wiping her hands on her apron, a smile bright on her face. She’s still looking down at the smattering of sauce on her apron as she approaches. “It’s so nice to meet—!” She finally looks up and stops short.

Miles glances at his mom. “Ma?” He looks at Peter, who somehow looks even _more_ sheepish.

“You,” Rio says, soft and faint. “You were at Jefferson’s funeral.”

Miles’ throat gets tight.

“I was, yeah.” Peter steps forward to Rio. “I was at City Hall when the attack happened.”

Miles remembers the funeral in bits and pieces, parts blacked out with grief. He remembers Peter, albeit vaguely. At the time, he’d been nothing more than another face in a sea of strangers offering platitudes and empty words. It isn’t a memory Miles likes to dwell on, even now when so much has changed.

And somehow, it seems, he entirely missed the fact that his mom has already met the other Spider-Man that day. He knew about their brief contact at May’s funeral, crossing paths while helping F.E.A.S.T. But his dad’s funeral…

“Well,” Rio says, looking a little sad and a little amused, “I suppose we know why. Had to keep the city safe, of course.”

Peter frowns. “I’m still sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“Hush,” Rio says firmly. She takes the bottle of wine from his hands. “You do plenty.” With that, she turns and heads back toward the kitchen. Over her shoulder, she says, “You two get comfortable. It’ll be a bit before dinner is ready.”

Despite her words, Miles and Peter stand in the hallway, both frozen.

“I didn’t realize you talked to Ma at the funeral,” Miles says.

“Only briefly, after I talked to you. I didn’t even really think about it until after I’d accepted the invitation.” Peter looks at him, apology heavy in his eyes. “Miles, I…” He scratches at the back of his neck awkwardly.

Miles lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not _always_ fine, but…” Miles turns and glances at his father’s picture on the mantle. “You know.”

When he looks back at Peter, the older man is smiling faintly. Sad, in the same way Rio’s tone had been. “Yeah,” Peter says, “I know.” Peter claps a hand on Miles’ shoulder before meandering toward the kitchen. “Ms. Morales, is there anything I can help with?”

Miles rolls his eyes as his mother promptly shoos Peter out of the kitchen despite his insistence on lending a hand. He’s busying himself with the record player by the time Peter finally gives up and retreats back into the living room.

“Does your mom swat everyone with a spatula, or am I just special?”

“Oh no, she does it to everyone.” Miles gives Peter a grin. “Wanna help me pick out a record?”

He and Peter are still perusing his dad’s record collection and bickering over what to pick when Rio pokes her head out of the kitchen again. Peter’s got _Rumours_ in his grasp and Miles is flapping an Eartha Kitt record in his general direction before Rio clears her throat.

“ _Mijo_ , set the table please.”

“Looks like I win this round,” Peter says as Miles puts the record back.

Miles sticks his tongue out at Peter before hurrying toward their kitchen. He gathers three plates and three sets of silverware, pausing to savor the scent of birria cooking and filling the kitchen. As he carries the plates and silverware over to table, a jaunty tune fills the little apartment.

_ Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love. _

Miles swallows and looks up after setting the plates down. His hands are shaking a little. Peter gives him a blinding grin from across the room. From the corner of his eye, Miles can see his mom’s eyebrows raising, her lips quirking into a similar smile.

Miles clears his throat and sets all his attention on setting the table. It takes no time at all and once he’s done, Eartha Kitt’s gentle voice is still wafting around the room.

_ Cold Cape Cod clams, ‘gainst their wish, do it. Even lazy jellyfish do it. Let’s do it, let’s fall in love. _

“Good choice,” Miles finally manages to say.

“I thought so, yeah.” Peter does a little shimmy, that embarrassing white-guy kind of shimmy, and Miles finds himself snickering.

“Go wash up, both of you,” Rio says as she pushes off where she leans against the couch, heading for the kitchen once more. “Dinner is just about ready.”

Miles motions for Peter to follow and leads him to the bathroom. “You can go first,” he says, gesturing.

Peter slips into the bathroom and Miles wanders toward his bedroom rather than loitering around the bathroom. Once he’s in his room, he takes the opportunity to gasp for air.

Look, he’s been doing a pretty good job of ignoring his crush on Peter for a while now. He’s still pretty sure it’s just some semi-warped hero worship and nothing more. Even so, he can hardly be blamed for the way his heart skipped a beat knowing Peter put on the record he wanted. It doesn’t mean anything; he knows that all too well. He’s barely eighteen and Peter is closer to twenty-five than he is twenty-four. There’s no way he’d feel the same way about Miles. And that’s fine, Miles long ago resigned himself to that.

Miles shakes his head, keen hearing picking up the faint _click_ of the bathroom door opening again. He comes out of his room just as Peter steps into the hallway and they share faint grins. Peter doesn’t wait for him, heading toward the living room instead. Miles slips into the bathroom and forces himself to chill out as he washes his hands diligently. It’s fine, everything is chill, and Miles’ crush will definitely go away soon.

Who needs a twenty second song when you’ve got your anxiety to keep you washing your hands for far longer than needed? It’s only his mom calling out for him that brings him out of his thoughts. He hastily dries his hands on the towel hanging by the sink and is still wiping them dry when he wanders toward the dining table.

Peter is carrying over a tray hefty with birria tacos while Rio has a small bowl of lime wedges and a bowl of cilantro balanced in one hand, two wine glasses in her other hand.

“Miles, will you get the bowls of stew served up, please?” His mother asks as she sets the limes and cilantro in the center of the table, placing one wine glass in front of her seat and the other in front of Peter’s. “You can have a seat, Peter, you’re a guest.”

Peter looks ready to protest but Rio must shoot him a look, because he doesn’t actually say anything. Miles stifles a snort as he grabs the bowls beside the large pot of birria stew and starts filling them. His mom follows him into the kitchen, reaching for the wine Peter brought.

“He’s cute,” she murmurs as she grabs the corkscrew from one of the drawers.

Miles’ ears burn. “ _Ma_ ,” he hisses.

“I’m just saying!” She holds up her hand in surrender before turning back to the dining room. “Peter, would you open this for me?”

Miles’ ears are ringing with embarrassment, so he misses whatever Peter says in response. Even the pop of the cork is dull to Miles’ ears. He diligently fills the three bowls before carrying them over to the table and passing them out accordingly. He takes his seat across from Peter, his mom to his left.

“So Peter,” Rio starts as she reaches for a lime wedge. “When did you become Spider-Man?”

Peter falters and nearly knocks the bowl of cilantro over entirely. He’s pink in the cheeks as he answers. “Well, I was bitten when I was fifteen.”

Rio hums. “Not much younger than Miles, then.”

Peter shakes his head. “No. As for when I became Spider-Man…it took a bit for me to figure that part out, I guess.”

Miles stares at Peter as the other man stares at his tacos. “Jeez Ma,” Miles says, “starting off with the heavy stuff, much?”

Rio rolls her eyes. “I’m just curious. There’s not much information out there.”

“There’s not much to it, really,” Peter admits. “It’s pretty boring all things considered.”

Miles scoffs. “ _Please_. As someone who’s gone through it, it’s not _boring_. Tony Stark, now _that’s_ a boring origin story.”

“ _Mijo_ ,” Rio chides, kicking him lightly under the table. “That’s…impolite.”

Miles snorts. “Oh yeah, because _you’re_ such a big Tony Stark fan.”

His mom _tsks_ at him but Miles doesn’t mind—Peter is laughing and the atmosphere is a little lighter. A little easier. He knows his mom has questions, and she deserves answers, but Miles can’t help but find a way to make this as easy on Peter as possible.

His mom eases up on Peter after that on her own; she asks a few questions about Miles’ training, then asks more about Peter’s personal life. When he mentions breaking things off with MJ a few months back, Miles chokes on a bite of taco.

“What?” Miles half-shouts, half-gasps. “You didn’t tell me that.”

Peter shrugs, not meeting Miles’ gaze. “It wasn’t a big deal. It’s been a long time coming, kinda. Since Symkaria.” 

Miles doesn’t know what to say to that. He’s not sure if he’s more surprised that Peter kept the breakup a secret from him or that it happened at all. Whenever he’s seen Peter and MJ together, they always seem pretty happy. Miles thinks back the last few months, trying to pinpoint changes in Peter’s behavior, any kind of clues he missed. He can’t recall anything, and even now Peter doesn’t look too upset about it. 

“You’re a handsome man, Peter,” Rio says. “You’ll find someone in no time.”

Miles can only hope Peter missed his mom’s pointed glance in his direction. Something tells him he’s not that lucky.

The rest of dinner passes without fanfare; they all eat until they’re uncomfortably full. Rio is flushed in the cheeks from the wine and Peter is as pale as ever. As he helps clear the table, Rio proclaims, “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about Miles and underage drinking at any point.”

Miles shakes his head as he gathers the bowls. “Like you were ever worried about that to begin with, Ma.”

She shrugs one shoulder. “Sometimes,” she says, her voice surprisingly somber, “before Aaron turned himself in…” She hums and looks away, lost in thoughts.

Miles’ chest clenches at the thought of his uncle, still serving his sentence, albeit a shortened one for turning on Krieger. He can see why his mom would be worried, but it’s nice knowing she can put those worries to rest.

“It does kind of suck,” Peter whispers as he and Miles carry the dishes into the kitchen. “I never got to try drinking but man, college sucked watching people go crazy.”

Miles tilts his head in consideration. “Yeah, I could see why that would suck. I think we got the better end of the deal, though.” He elbows Peter and gets a smile in return.

“Yeah,” Peter says, still soft, “we did.”

Miles looks away. “We can just leave the dishes for now. I’ll finish them before bed.”

“I don’t mind helping, Miles.” Peter starts to reach for the dish soap sitting on the edge of the counter when a familiar trill goes off. He frowns and reaches for his phone instead.

“A robbery a few blocks from here,” Peter murmurs.

“Should I suit up?”

Peter shakes his head. “It’s small, shouldn’t be too bad.” Peter’s lips twist unhappily. “Hate to bail, but—?”

“Duty calls,” Miles says and his mom echoes him in the dining room. “It was like that even before I got powers.”

Peter pockets his phone again and steps back toward the dining room. “Thank you for having me, Ms. Morales.”

Rio rises and shakes Peter’s outstretched hand before using the grip to tug him into a hug. “Call me Rio, Peter, please.”

Despite looking a little shocked, Peter hugs her back. He pulls back when she does and nods. “Of course, Rio.”

“I expect to see you around here just like Ganke, alright? Any friend of Miles is welcome here, any time.”

Peter ducks his head and when he looks up again, that bashful expression is back on his face. “Thanks.”

Rio pats his shoulder. “Miles and I will walk you to the door.”

Miles follows his mom’s lead and trails a few steps behind her as they walk to the front door. Peter’s talking about normally going out the fire escape but how he thought that might be weird to do in someone else’s house, so he’d webbed his backpack to a building across the street. At Miles’ answering snort, Peter sticks his tongue out.

“ _Corto de luces,_ ” Rio says before she pats Peter’s shoulder again. Miles shoots her a curious look but she pays him no mind. “Be safe.”

“I will.” Peter looks at Miles. “I’ll call you if I need anything, okay?”

“Sounds good, man.” Miles steps forward to do a semi-complicated high-five-slash-handshake with Peter. Then, he’s gone, front door falling shut behind him. The lock has barely clicked into place before Rio’s speaking.

“I think he likes you, _mijo_.”

_ “Ma!” _ Miles scrubs a hand over his face. “He’s just a friend. He’s a nice guy, that’s all.”

Rio _tsks_ again, shaking her head. “You don’t see the way he looks at you.”

“He doesn’t _look_ at me,” Miles replies, tone edging into helpless and a little petulant. “Trust me, I would’ve noticed.”

“You think your little spidey sense would tell you?” She scoffs. “You’re a little blind, _mijo_ , but that’s okay. You’ll figure it out.”

“Ma, please, the last thing I need is you trying to set me and Peter up.”

Rio holds up her hands but opens her mouth to say something else—something wise, and motherly, and unfailingly correct, probably. Before she can, there’s a gentle knock at the door.

Miles’ brow furrows and glances through the peephole only to see Peter standing on the other side of the door. Miles swallows, suddenly far too aware of how thin the walls are in their little apartment.

He pulls the door open anyway. “Hey Pete, you forget something?”

Behind Miles, Rio mutters something about there still being wine left and wanders back to the kitchen.

“Uh, yeah.” Peter blinks at him, eyes wide. “You know spidey senses don’t tell you stuff like that, right?”

Miles groans. “Peter, listen, I.” Miles starts and he’s not even sure what he’s going to say. Apologize maybe, for being a dumb teenager with a dumb crush; maybe he’ll beg Peter to pretend like he didn’t hear anything so they can go on being normal friends. He’s still searching for what to say when Peter speaks first.

“Your mom is right, y’know.”

“Moms usually are!” Rio shouts from the other room.

Miles looks over at her, even though she’s tucked into the kitchen out of sight. Then Peter’s words catch up to him and he looks at Peter instead. “What?”

The sheepish expression is back, along with the awkward neck scratching, and avoiding Miles’ gaze. “Your mom’s right,” Peter says again, quieter.

Miles blinks.

“Look, I’m just gonna—don’t venom strike me, okay?” And then Peter’s moving in slowly like he might spook Miles. Like Miles would actually use his bioelectric venom against Peter for this. Peter’s hand is shaking when it cups Miles’ cheek and his lips are chapped when they meet Miles’.

Miles can’t help but squeak into the kiss and that makes Peter laugh and the kiss is over before it even got started.

“Dude,” Miles says, reaching out to fist a hand in Peter’s shirt. “Don’t laugh.” He giggles a bit too, though.

“Sorry, sorry,” Peter says before leaning in to kiss him again. This one is better because Miles is ready for it. Sure his knees are shaking and he’s holding Peter’s shirt tight enough to permanently wrinkle, but he’s ready. He kisses back, a soft and tender thing, and they kiss until their lungs hurt.

“I really gotta go stop that robbery,” Peter says. His cheeks are flushed.

“I mean, if we both go it’ll be over even quicker.”

“The dishes,” Peter starts.

Rio interrupts him. “Just _go_!”

Peter grins. “Meet you on the roof?”

Miles nods with a grin of his own. “See you in a minute.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Rio says _Corto de luces_ because she knows Peter and Miles are too dim to realize their feelings for each other/how good they are for each other.
> 
> also i've started a gamerverse discord server so if that's something that interests you, [hit me up on tumblr!](https://punk-rock-yuppie.tumblr.com/ask) i wanted a place where we could get together and talk abt the game and all the ships!


End file.
